Thursday, July 3, 2014

Helsinki, Finland

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It was so nice to arrive in Helsinki, getting away from the traffic and congestion of St Petersburg. We finally saw some sun!

A comedy of errors occurred on my tour of Helsinki By Sea and Fortress Island (Suomenlinna Fortress). This is a former island fortress, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1748 the Finnish army helped to build this huge impregnable fortress, at the entrance of Helsinki Harbor. It has never been taken by assault. I wasn't too excited to head out for yet another tour after being so active on a daily basis in St Petersburg, but I rallied. Our guide escorted us to the wrong boat over to the island. After arriving on the island we had to get off the local boat and wait for our private boat, re-board, and go back to where we started to begin our private tour. We walked a bit around the island then headed back to shore. Once back we had no bus waiting to take us to the ship. We all had to find the shuttle bus. Our guide was clueless to know where to meet the ships shuttle or what time.... The good thing was I got a chance to walk around Market Square and Market Hall and see all the wonderful food venders there. The food on display was to die for. The bad news was I had no Euros to buy anything. They do not take US dollars here. Bummer.
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Tonight we had dinner with JR Lusting, the Cruise Director and his assistant, Olivia. It was a lovely dinner, just the four of us. Afterwards we hit the show, Dancing to the Hits, wonderfully talented, beautifully choreographed dancers. Sort of like dancing with the stars..... One of the best shows on Regent we have seen.

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